#which helped a lot. and it's funny to think about now bc i . FORGOT

[frecklystars]

Ahhh I’m so glad you enjoyed the Oscars performance of I’m Just Ken, I was wondering what you thought of it! This may be obvious and I’m just not picking up on it, but what were the implications you mentioned in the notes of Ken mimicking a knife stabbing him in the original performance versus shattering a glass and stabbing himself with that in the Oscars version? Did you mean that the difference is meaningful? I am interested to hear your thoughts! Apologies if it was something obvs tho lol 🐢

HI TURTLE ANON!!!! MY FRIEND TURTLE ANON!!!! HIII!!!! 👋

OHH I just meant in a literal sense that he's implying/mimicking he's stabbing himself in the chest with something pointy bc he's in THAT much pain when I went "the implications!!" hehe. this isn't the first time I phrased something in a weird way, and it shall not be my last :) sdlkfhdsfhdklsf I do want to say I like when there's that kind of thing in choreography! Mimicking you're stabbing yourself in the heart when you're emotionally wounded... ugh I eat that shit up. The Jabbawockeez (my favorite dance group) do that move all the time and it's-- UGH IT'S SO GOOD. Implying that you're so wounded from someone's words/actions that you feel as if you are physically bleeding to death from a stab wound piercing your heart is mmmmMMMYYYYY FAAAAAAVORITE!!!!!!!! 💘💘💘💘💘💘 I've actually been meaning to do Ken fanart of him stabbing himself with a glowing cupid's arrow ever since the movie was released in theaters. On opening night I was like "oh. I am drawing that at some point" and it's been, what, three quarters of a year? Haven't drawn it?!! I gotta get ON that

BUT ANYWAY AHH THAT'S MY FAVORITE PART!!!!! I like the difference between them too now that you mention it I DO wanna say something about that :3c I feel like........ Ken stabbing himself in the heart with a knife in the movie version showing how hurt he is dealing w/ his unrequited feelings/disrespect from the doll he was Made For, how it's a very slow feeling that festered within him for 60 crotchless, slutty years... his expression isn't an enraged sort of anger but it's just. bitter! he's tired and bitter and heartbroken! WAIT I made gifs hold on--

VS the Oscars version when Ken (we'll pretend it's Ken taking possession of Ryan Gosling's body for 3 minutes and 14 seconds) takes a champagne glass, is so hurt that it just feels like... an intense depression from a heartache that won't go away,,, total, utter desperation within the moment,,,,,, not something building up over time, but rather all of his resentment kind of simmers until it feels like it's breaking him, like his sadness is burning like acid eating him up from the inside out. You see all of that rage and anger put into every Ken that mimics smashing the glass on the staircase, and that anger melts into total despair when they're stabbing themselves. Taking a champagne glass, something that is not meant to cause harm, shattering it with such force until it becomes a weapon, and stabbing himself in the heart with the jagged shards -- and not even just stabbing himself with it, but the way he curls his body a little, then taking a pause, a breath -- OOGH. GOD it just!!! really accentuates his pain. Movie!Ken is in a dream ballet dance number, all of his feelings are in every move he makes. His bitterness and resentment is all in his expression as he keeps walking forward and continuing the choreography.

Since the Oscars version of this Ken is doing a performance based more on feeling (and, well, something built for live TV rather than a movie with a million camera shots and multiple takes), him sitting on the steps to pierce himself in the heart with his own champagne glass just seems so much more... what's the word i'm looking for. somber? just so utterly depressed and disconsolate... the way a movie version of just this one single line can be so different from a live TV version bc the choreography is different, the Feeling is different, the expressions and urgency within his movements are different!!!! ughhh so good!!!!!! It's my favorite part in the dance number, so seeing him not just mimic stabbing himself with a knife, but rather SHATTERING a GLASS to stab himself with the jagged shards??? UGHHH THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. That was Just For Me. I can't stop thinking about it....... I'm utterly obsessed.............

I'm really bad at phrasing things but hopefully I made SOME sense here heheh///// thank you for asking btw :D

[serv0z]

RAHHH a drawing of all the sillies currently occupying my brain right now. Funny thing is!! My last LN related drawing was posted almost exactly a year ago!! how funny! Close-ups and yapping under the cut

I'm running on 3 hrs of sleep bc i stayed up till 5am to make this and then i had a neurologist appt at 8 so!!! (i got officially diagnosed with adhd or add we win, i already forgot which one he said but i get my meds tmrw!!) I might take a nap after this im so exhausted. ANYWAYS.!!! i love. flowey and clover friendship no one start yelling at me abt how flowey didnt care!!! theyre best friends to me!!!! and it works out as im a clover kinnie nd floweys been my comfort character for years now. we win. I don't think monsters really had binders at first (dont use bandages btw guys, dont be like Starlo was!!11) I think the first time one fell into the trash dump or wtvr someone picked it up and then once figuring out its uses just!! boom!! business!! figuring out how to safely make more and!!! finding ways to accommodate certain monsters with different body types!! esp with the spikes and such. Ceroba def helped Starlo out with his bandages often before they were able to get him a binder. the one where clovers drawing is !! an idea of revived!clover or clover staying in the underground in hiding. Martlet got him that shirt :)) and obv the bell earring is from Ceroba. sorry to all my cotl followers i STILL have no colored the 5 body refs of both narinder and lambert. I picked the colors here on a whim so uhmmm it's not official!!! not yet anyways!! i do like what i used for Narinders fur tho, so that might stay idk yet i hte coloring BNJKNKSD i colored this whole thing on a wild impulse.. thus staying up all night. I think clover would really enjoy waterfall if they were ever able to visit it after or during the whole soul thing. It's peaceful and beautiful and also one of my fav areas in base game sooo :) i missed my LN kids. I reread Raccoons on ao3 and remembered how much i loved them and their silly lil dynamic. im a #1 six defender btw i WILL throw hands if u say some wrong shit abt her. mono, less so bc i think a lot of people have a good grasp on his character now but six is ALWAYS villainized. Has been for years nd it ticks me off bc?? she was right for her actions kinda?? not really?? ofc both characters made bad choices that lead to it but dont disregard her feelings either? idk its a whole thing i cant get into on THIS post. a lot of the doodles are just random moments like Six in the Maw with their bigass keys and locks, maybe its one of the ones to the kitchen and thats why she's rushing :D? Mono isnt really. he wasnt meant to be in the end game room but i wanted funky lighting so do with that as u will. Silly stuff with RK and Six, RCG I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT U HUN <333 I JUST DONT HAVE A DESIGN FOR YOU YET!!! same for Low and Alone </3 RK with the nomes my beloved <333 nd ofc the last dance based on the animation on youtube!!! do not tag any of the ln kids as ship!!! and do not tag clover and flowey as a ship either!! only two im fine with in this drawing is staroba or narilamb oki goodnight

[sky--phantom]

Trespasser! 🫡

btw, pls don't hold the hair clipping against me 😅 this is her hairstyle, and I liked the outfit too much to change it because of the neck.

Also, warning, I ended up rambling at the end 😅

Lavellan when she spots Solas and the Viddasala

I don't know why but this one just seems so funny to me out of context 😂 like, "honey, you know that thing you told me not to do?"

Solas as Lavellan talks about how she discovered he's the Dread Wolf. I don't know how to describe this expression, sad, fond, proud? I think there would be a "Solas approves" here tho 🥲

"What is the old Dalish curse? “May the Dread Wolf take you”?"

"And so he did" (this is the other line that kills me)

They closed their eyes and lowered their heads at the same second during the "I would not have you see what I become". These two angsty mfs

(Though judging by how Solas' bags in DAV + that bit told in the GI article, she wasn’t exactly wrong to say "I cannot bear to think of you alone")

The Anchor flares up

"Solas, var lath vir suledin"

"I wish it could, vhenan."

the kiss 😢

It kills me how he brushes her hair back, and then holds her face. He also holds her hand with his other one.

They both just look so fking wrecked during this kiss.

And then he leaves 😞

now to wait for their next meeting in DAV 🥲

I still can't believe that, besides his visits to her dreams (which I think is probably a whole other post), this is the last time they meet. Pretty sure DAV is 8 years after this.

This was devastating. Both of them are wrecked, this is not what they want, but it's the path Solas has chosen to walk through. It hurts because falling in love with Lavellan is probably one of the few times in a while that Solas has done something just for himself, not for the cause, not for the people, but Solas

("The blame is mine, not yours. It was irresponsible and selfish of me") ("Because I made a selfish mistake. Because you deserve better"),

and he has to break it off. No matter how Lavellan and the other members of the Inquisition have helped him see people as, you know, people, this is a mission he has set for himself, something he believes he has to do, his duty.

(Also, I forgot to mention it during the Crestwood post, but it hurts when he stops saying vhenan and changes to Inquisitor)

So, Solas drags his feet, walking slowly, but still walks away from Lavellan and towards the eluvian. He walks away from the person who fell in love with him when he was just Solas, and walks towards the path where he is Fen'Harel, the god of rebellion who has tried to help his people, even if it doesn't turn out well.

He leaves behind a Lavellan whose heart is breaking for the 3rd time because of the same man, who has to deal with what happens with the Inquisition (mine disbanded with the angry option), and the loss of an arm. Also, you know, dealing with the fact that he is an elven god and wants to destroy the veil.

So, yeah...

Sorry that this got a bit very rambly 😅 I just finished the game a little over 2 weeks ago, and there are a lot of thoughts running around my head.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Solas in DAV, and how the Inquisitor will be integrated into the game as well. (side note, I'm so curious about that, bc they haven't even mentioned if the Inky CC will have the same options as Rook) (I just want to know if there are prosthetics and if they can have body tattoos)

These are more general, just thought they were pretty

[hostilemuppet]

you think it would’ve been better if creek did get eaten in the first movie? At least legacy wise. Everyone would mourn him as the last victim of trollstice, and the few who did know what an ass he was couldn’t really mess with that memory. Like my man would be better dead than alive

i think thats why i find "creek somehow survives" aus so funny. bc him surviving is literally the worst case scenario with him no matter which route you take.

did he save himself from the monster the same way poppy did while chef died, so he had to wander the woods for ages until coming back to troll civilisation, like presumably happened in the cartoon? even if he is genuinely accepted with open arms he was still LIVING in the WOODS. he probably ate MANY poisonous berries. he probably also ate special mushrooms and had the worst trip of his life several times over. he could only wash himself in lakes/puddles, and convenient rainfall, and MAYBE if hes a quick thinker and finds a pointy stick he could make a shower out of dew on leaves like branch does in the cartoon. even if after returning to the village everything is back to normal he still HAD that experience. plus, yknow, bergens are friends now. and hes one of two trolls alive who have the experience of being in a bergens mouth. he probably has to relive that whenever hes forced to be nice to a bergen. i think its awesome hes traumatised

did he save himself, wander the woods, come back to pop troll village, only to be met with disgust at his betrayal? sure, they let him stay, but its mostly because he cant sell them out anymore. hes harmless. but that doesnt mean they like him. they hate him. they might go to his yoga classes, its his one contribution to society, but no ones friends with him anymore. dj suki only invited him out because he forgot it was prank day, and he REALLY thought they were hitting it off! i mean, POPPY only even acknowledges his existence when hes annoying branch and cries to poppy like shes a preschool teacher. POPPY! the happiest troll of all, and they used to be so inseparable, and even if they werent "official" poppy at LEAST had a crush on him and he KNEW ABOUT IT! but now its nothing! he has no one. he was willing to kill everyone he ever knew and loved, and as a result, he is dead to all of them.

did he and chef NOT get eaten by the monster, and were just banished from bergentown, and chef used creek to wash her dishes like in the books? he cant escape her, shes on top of everything! like, literally, she towers over him. hes a tiny little rodent and she is studying him like a labrat. maybe she doesnt even keep him in a cage, because she knows he knows theres no way hes even getting out of the RV, let alone getting back home alive! which adds insult to injury, doesnt it. he has walking room but it doesnt help him at all. he may be freeroam but shes still his captor. hes held prisoner and borderline tortured for the rest of his life

did the previous happen, BUT he somehow got away from chef? whether he escaped, or she died, or maybe she gave up and let him go but i dont think that ones likely. he would, again, have to wander the woods before returning to civilisation. he no longer has the trauma of being eaten by a monster 500x his size, but he DOES have the trauma of being tortured by a monster 20x his size, on top of being almost eaten by a monster 10x his size. hes been through a lot, and he deserves every last bit of it

did any of the others happen, except instead of being allowed back into the village (whether they actually wanted him back, or they tolerated him because hes no longer dangerous) hes still banished? they dont let him back into the village, into his old pod. maybe they give him a tent, theyre not heartless, but they send him back on his way. maybe branch gives him an old book of safe forageables, not out of the goodness of his heart but to gloat, that now CREEK is the lonely ostracised hermit and BRANCH is beloved by the community and the queen. HIS queen. good luck, buddy. from the looks of how youre faring after one month, youre gonna need it!

and theres probably OTHER options i havent even THOUGHT about! that are even WORSE. and he brought it on himself! because he valued himself more than his entire species! his massive ego, the way he fancied himself the next stage in troll evolution. i know its hard to accept your death, but if youre to the point you think you are worth more than everyone you have ever known, ever loved, you deserve what happens

[strawbubbysugar]

Happy birthday Bubby!

Couple more questions!

-Are you able to say everyone’s ages in So(u)l, including the animatronics?

-Does June ever play his guitar and sing in public or at bars or anything or does he only do that at home now?

-Soulmate question, kinda regarding Rush and Morgan’s bond, does that imply that if you don’t have a soulmate due to your previous one passing away, you can get a new bond later even if your future soulmate already exists? Like the string will “wait” kinda until they’re ready? Or was Morgan and Rush’s string there right when Rush woke up?

-What are June, Hello, and Goodbye’s main fidgets/stims?

-Okay this might be weird lol but I’m curious, what are Hello and Goodbye’s favorite little things that June does in his sleep? Does he talk, twitch, unconsciously cling to them like a koala, anything like that?

-What kind of odd jobs does June do on the side?

Thank you!!

i wanna keep it vague, but June is roughly in his mid 20's matt is roughly in his mid-late 30's Marlow is roughly one year younger than June Morgan is two years older than June Hello is a year old (his AI is somewhere around June's age) Goodbye was a year older than June (now the same age as Hello) Rush is around 8 years old (his ai is early 30's) Wibble is around 6 years old (his ai is the same as Rush) Cammie is 4 around years old (her ai is the same as wibble and rush) Octavia is around 2 years old, but was technically never completed (her size makes it much easier to fit a more complex system in her, so her mental age is around 40) The skrittles have the same AI age as toddlers, but theyre a few months old Astro Cadet has been worked on off and on for about six years, and his ai is about the same age. It grows much slower than the WOW branded animatronics

Absolutely no in public things. He's gotten a lot more shy about performing since his band days. He only ever plays for hello/goodbye and piper

Soulmate marks are all about right time, right place. if you arent the version of yourself that would be soulmates with someone, no markings will show up. Morgan was a very different person with their last soulmate, and their life experiences changed who they are. it happens! people change, especially as they get older. its why a lot of people are told not to be upset if they dont get any markings until later on (SPOILERS BELOW) Its why samir and june didnt have any soul marks until samir was goodbye. he wasnt the person that wouldve been soulmates with june yet, he needed to experience and change and grow before that would happen. So did june!

June chews his lip a lot, and sighs. Sometimes he sighs for no reason just because he forgot to breathe. I think his favourite fidget toy would be one of those fidget cubes Hello stims by waving/flapping his arms, or playing with his hands. I think he'd enjoy fidget spinners or rubix cubes! Goodbye stims with squeezing/pressure. He'd enjoy weighted blankets, and I think he'd enjoy stress balls. Ones with thick stuff inside so he can really squeeze down

Hello likes it when June sighs in his sleep, or mumbles. Goodbye thinks its funny when he snores on occasion, and records it to play it back while pretending to nap. (taking inspiration from my roommate bc its hilarious, sometimes june will make the saddest, softest little sigh in his sleep and hello will wake him up like "WERE YOU HAVING A BAD DREAM ARE YOU OKAY" & june will be entirely confused)

June does a lil of everything. people in town come to him for a lot of stuff like yard work, painting houses/fences, cleaning houses. He occasionally comes into bryn's office and helps with anything they might need too, like fixing the chairs, etc. He's known as a jack of all trades around town (which makes him feel nostalgic, since that used to be what he called his childhood best friend)

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

Adding on to the info dump that you have kindly graced me with, my first though when I heard that Abyss can make drugs out of their venom when diluted and then after reading what relations they would have, or lack of, was that is angel just so happens to stumble upon them making a batch to sell off. Angel could be like peeking into their room (oh yeah this is when they become a member of the hotel officially) and so when Abyss decided that they had enough to sell and goes on break, leaving their room unguarded, I think angel would be the curious soul that he is would check out what bro was cooking.

If Angel found out that it was a drug they made form their venom by just a small test, personally—and you are free to correct me if you want—I believe that Angel would basically try to ask for drugs off of Abyss for free since it’s a nice thing and that’s what the hotel is aiming for and if that doesn’t work he’ll try to pester them (which wouldn’t last long I bet) and if he still gets ‘no’ for an answer, he would try to steal them which made abyss start hiding their batches, getting a lock on their room door or just making the batches outside the hotel and an instant delivery. That’s my personal take tho and I thought it would make for something funny but could be used for some slight bonding or something? However way you wanna go with this.

Secondly, Alistor just picking up Abyss from seemingly out of nowhere was just funny and the image I saw in my head was like him pinching the “scruff” of Abyss as they freeze up, cuz y’know, bro was just picked up no warning. Oh yeah forgot to mention that I can see this happening in both normal sizes as well as their shrunken state which would probably be the most obvious choice hehe. Okay onto what I was not here for cuz I just thought of this right before I was inches away from sending! >:p.

You said that you would be unsure of what could lead to any Vore scenarios because he is chill with Abyss and such, unless he was PISSED. (Based off memory so could be wrong but Anygay-) now I’m not one who knows what abyss is like, like the back of my hand, but form what I do know and a half awake brain the only scenario I see working is that maybe Abyss could be in an annoyed mood from like one buyer that asked for drugs didn’t exactly have any plan to pay in the first place and made it seem like they would pose a threat to their life which they had no intentions to but it was a way to avoid paying and getting a lot of free drugs. This would couse their panic mode to activate slightly and they would shrink (causing rumours to go around about abyss and harming their business since demons can now use that to their advantage) so when they return maybe a little shrunken and in a little pissy mood they could retaliate if Alistor was to like do his usual thing of spooking them or something of the sort which wasn’t too much appreciated and thus the final straw was snapped and maybe an insult or two slipped out, voice slightly raised. Abyss heads back to their room and flopping down onto their bed to just cool off and not even 5 minutes later Alistor comes back to be a bother but something seems a lil off with him (bc bro took that one personally).

Leaving the rest to you (mostly cuz my lesson is gonna start rn. Woo, college ) Anygay hope this helps you at least, go wild with it.

Have a happy day and always stay gay!! That’s my new motto now, Sue me.

- 🌽 anon

Alright, everyone, buckle up for another long response!

I was thinking more like Abyss sold their pure venom to drug makers and dealers rather than making the drug themself, but I'll give them a small drug setup themself for extra cash

As for your Angel Dust idea, the most logical trail in my mind was to have him trying to find a drug stash since he's left them scattered all over the hotel, hoping that the furniture he used to hide his own drugs were still there. Of course, they're not, but he comes across their dilution station (WIP page below)

Abyss honestly wouldn't care if Angel Dust wanted to try some of the drug and would probably offer him a batch for free. They're not super in it for the money and just do it as a way to pass time and stuff. They could probably use their network of buyers to figure out information on people if they ever felt interested in trying to start gathering their own territory. But, given that they were kind of depressed in life, you can imagine the amount of motivation they have, lmao

They're definitely getting a new lock for their room though

Also, the Alastor scruffing them and presenting Abyss to everyone was the idea. But, in my head, he uses his shadow abilities/tentacles to snatch them from wherever they are and just materialize them in front of everyone else. I also have the headcanon that he can nullify other demons abilities somewhat, so they wouldn't be presented shrunk. This also mitigates them trying to calm themself and regrow inside of Alastor, soooo, you know. I feel like he’d occasionally scruff Abyss like he does Nifty 

And, your big paragraph is the paragraph that brought up an animatic idea of the potential drug deal. I’m gonna be honest, I’ve thought way too much about everything, haha

Abyss has almost definitely been killed a couple times since falling into Hell. I imagine the majority of demons have been killed at least once since falling, and since we hear Velvette literally say that she “can’t wait for that unlucky bitch to put herself together”, I’m thinking they either regenerate/stitch back together or re-fall depending on how pulverized the body ends up being. As such, they’re not unused to threats. They’re small and have been considered an easy target since first showing up

In the animatic, if I get to it, will be a stand off between a bunch of shark demons (I just like their designs in the show) and Abyss. In it, the sharks are more than happy to try and kill them to get the goods, but it’s basically just a show of how agile/quick Abyss can be on their feet while also using their shrinking to their advantage with part of a banger song in the background. Sort of, like, the stress apathy takes over, you know? They would definitely need to spend a few days in the hotel to destress though, I imagine you never QUITE get used to being killed over and over again

Also, I can’t imagine rumors really holding much stock on their rep? They don’t really have one and try to remain low-key anyways to try not to appear like a threat, and they don’t tell anyone they sell to where they get the ‘pure stuff’ to avoid the potential of other demons attempting to capture them just to use them as a literal cash cow for their venom concentrate. If people want to think of them as weak and an easy pushover because they can shrink, they’re fine with that because that usually means they get left alone unless someone feels like kicking the demon equivalent of a puppy. I also feel like they’re likely to be overlooked a lot despite being bioluminescent

And, I still don’t even know what kind of comment Abyss would realistically make to piss Alastor off (I know he hates being told about or thought of as having less control than he exudes, but Abyss would definitely not really see him as not having a full deck, so to speak), but that won’t stop me from drawing them together. Maybe they asked a bit too much about him because he’s a contradictory fuck who loves people wondering about his deal, but refuses to talk about it to drum up the mystery. Abyss would definitely feed his ego a bit with curious questions

Anyways, that’s all for now! I have a bunch to do if I don’t want more to pile up and leave me in a stressed paralysis

[coffeelovesdramasalatte]

LITA Ep 1 rewatch thoughts

Taking it from the top! Why is Phayu literally the nicest person ever? Like he just saw someone's car stalling near the road in the rain and he just stopped to help? I love that this is their official intro to each other bc it gives us viewers a clear impression of their dynamic from the very beginning. The music selection in this scene is so funny though bc it's intense and dangerous and Phayu is literally just telling Rain to turn his hazard lights on lmao.

I also love that every time Phayu helps Rain, he does so with encouragement for Rain to be more self-sufficient. The tire-changing is example one.

"You're so handsome" RAIN pls control yourself... I mean we all agree and Phayu's already looking interested but danggg

Ah Sky, the long-suffering (affectionate) BFF. Did we ever find out when they met? Was it just in college or before, bc it looks like Sky's Rain-related-nonsense-tolerance meter is constantly maxed out and that usually comes from long-term friendships.

I LOVE HIM there is not a single thought behind these eyes

Yassss department god Phayu for the win!! Love how this montage makes Phayu seem like a highly elegant and smart guy (which he is) but then we just watch him be a dork over Rain the rest of the series.

Fast forward a bit to the restaurant scene bc I forgot to keep typing...

Ok yeah sure you don't remember Rain, Phayu. Please, you made a beeline directly to him as soon as you walked in. Also, this scene makes my heart beat faster even though they do a lot more later on (where are those eyes looking, eh Phayu?).

The next scene where Phayu wipes Rain's hair gives me mixed feelings bc on the one hand, I don't like how Rain literally had to hit Phayu with a pillow before he'd let go, but on the other I didn't actually get a sense of danger from Phayu. I also did like that Phayu threw out "actually I'm bisexual" so casually - love that for us. I also think it's hilarious how fast Rain falls into the "I'm so into Phayu" headspace. I've heard some people call it subspace and from what I know I'm inclined to agree but I don't know enough to comment on that further. Also here begins the saga of Rain having a death-grip on Phayu's neck during intimate moments. We stan <3

Somehow I didn't notice the thermostat being set so low during every rewatch of this episode until now - I was always confused as to why Rain had to go under the covers but I get it.

When they wake up and Rain calls Phayu a bunch of names I couldn't stop laughing - it's even funnier when you know what's coming in the next few eps. Also my son really went "no thoughts head empty" after a single cheek kiss from Phayu. What a cutie

Rain cursing at the storm is so cute!!! Also we love our logical bestie Sky as always.

I LOVE P'Aon!! Also he's the first person to call Rain Phayu's boy and for some reason I think that's v v cute

I accidentally paused and can't stop laughing at Phayu's face here PLSSSS

And we've made it to the ending scene!! Ahhhh this makes me SO SOFT! I love it when characters tuck their face into their partner's neck when they're sleeping - there's something about the trust and comfort needed to do that which makes me so happy to see it play out. And Phayu's little "I'm really starting to like you, Rain" with the SOFTEST little smile on his face URGH I'M EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS

This is one of my favorite opening episodes of a series! We got introduced to all the main players as well as the key side-characters, and we got a good understanding of who Rain and Phayu are as individuals (less so on Phayu's side for now) and their dynamic together. I was so hyped to finish the rest of the series as soon as I finished this episode the first time

[time-is-restored]

oh shit i forgot here's another one, this time its an old neal caffrey analysis rant (this one fueled by insomnia, and written much earlier into my first watch of white collar - i think early season 3??):

im gonna be weird about white collar but the thing is so many people are weird about white collar in the wrong direction

like woobifying neal to hell and back or inventing whole new personalities for el or . i don’t even know how to describe what they do to peter

like the thing about neal is he Is a magpie he’s just a surprisingly loyal one, he flits from shiny thing to person to ideal, sure, but certain classes of ppl can fully hold his attention

peter holds his attention bc he is good as in skilled (it’s borderline canon that no one else can catch him, or even really come close), and extremely principled w a cunning streak which neal basically approaches as like. a puzzle box, bc like none of their principles line up so he’s curious how the apparent closed system rube goldberg machine of his morals work LOL

then it becomes a dedication through loyalty, in that peter sticks his neck out multiple times due to faith in neal, and neal is EXTREMELY weak to loyalty/consistency (gestures at the mess of his childhood)

and due to generally low self image (morals wise, he kind of thinks he sucks? like he’s competent and cool and charming and everything, but he also tends to consider himself a nuisance, w how he’s disruptive to ‘normal’ / ‘good’ people) that dedication can become disproportionate

we see through kate (and later, adler) that the easiest way to con neal/get him acting against his own self interest IS to cultivate that loyalty

there’s an easy archetype to it, even, in that u present him with a competent, smart individual (bonus points if they’re a conventionally attractive woman), but have her off limits in some way (uninterested, taken, stand off ish, whatever), activate his thief urge to ‘take’ what he wants, then when they are friends/partners whatever, his inadvertent guilt over like. corrupting/endangering this person/tricking them about who he ‘really’ is will loop around into VERY strong loyalty, and a commitment to being whatever they want him to be x2, bc he Cannot handle being left behind LMAO

peter simultaneously feeds into + challenges this framework, bc he clearly has the least biased opinion about who neal is, even though he’s still wrong about a lot of things. and beyond that, he REALLY likes neal, thinks he’s interesting and funny, but at the start of the show can’t deal with even 0.01% of his chaotic neutral methods

WHICH IN TURN!! actually breaks through some of Neal’s shit bc:

peter picked him out of prison before neal had changed at all

he essentially sees his role, from as early as ep 1, as tactically breaking the law where peter can’t/won’t, in ways that help them close the case faster

after peter (more or less) gives a thumbs up the first time he does this, neals puzzle box brain goes ‘oh?? morally grey bestie??? CRIME BESTIE????’ and now he’s trying to ‘solve’ peter’s moral code

this is actually almost in complete opposition to elizabeth, who is compete open and clear about her affection and friendship w him basically since they meet, and apparently has no prerequisites for it. which, again, pointing to the low self esteem, triggers the ‘oh god what have i done to deserve this i haven’t even CONNED her yet’ so he’s low key more invested in + comitted to elizabeth in a specific. 'i want to be on good terms w this person' targeted way than he initially was w peter (since their mutual obsession manifests so fucking frequently as 'what, you're gonna hit me? you're gonna hit me with that big bat? better make it hurt. better kill me in one shot!' style antagonism)

HENCE the constant check ins w their relationship, reminding peter about anniversaries and dinner times etc, though that’s also due to a general fascination he has w stability + permanence

we learn in s2 he was seriously considering proposing to kate, and that he genuinely wanted to take the ‘true love’ way out of the conman life, even though he wasn’t quite sure whether it would stick, hence we see a lot in s2 his fascination w peter + els marriage, along with june (crime aunty <3)‘s relationship w her passed husband

a lot of his dedication to peter circa s2 is, by my reckoning, explicitly because peter is so determined to stick with Neal, and doesn’t give up on him/their deal even when it would be entirely reasonable (neal admits to crimes, gets put back in prison, constantly breaks rules and goes looking for kate) which is like. neal HATES being trapped, but he also REALLY values consistency + competency

hence the complexes, y'know?

[maybevillage]

hi ive been following for a bit and noticed ur playing ffxiv and are in heavensward! i just wanted to stop by to say i recommend playing dark knight; the quests are fun and i think u would like the characters in there. as a heavensward job, the quests from 50-60 help round out the setting a bit more (wrt the dragonsong war, the systems in place in ishgard, those w power vs the victims, etc) which i think makes it a good job to pick up while progressing. it helps that theres some p funny shit that happens too. i <3 moogles

omg thankyou i appreciate it! :] i actually did pick up the quest bc i like tanking but have been postponing it bc the main story has really grabbed a hold of me but you are right. ishgard is probably the most interesting thing in the entire game to me rn so i will get back to it this weekend then o7 fray seems so cute lol T___T feel like i genuinely forgot about this quest until now help

iwill use this ask as an opportunity to say i am actually pretty particular about being told things before i get to them myself (unfortunately for my friends who have to deal w me getting angry at them about this often) but i understand i can be an outlier when it comes to wanting to know absolutely zero about something. curating my online exprience and all that. just a heads up for ppl who might message me in the future but i think it's best for me to say this now!

anyways, ty for following me for a bit and sharing your ffxiv excitement with me! i've really been enjoying it except for the vault and i have a lot of ffxiv stuff i want to draw soon (i actually hopped onto tumblr to post about it lol) so i hope you can look forward to some ffxiv fanart from me soon hopefully crycry. in the meanwhile have a haurchefant i drew on the weekend bc he's all i have drawn from this game so far

[mischas]

thoughts as i rewatched mischa on the oc pod

these are mostly the thoughts i sent to my friend in real time lol i cannot help the stream of consciousness when it comes to this podcast episode apparently (here's my original thoughts pre-revelations)

funny how she says 17.5/18 at the top

seems that’s the age range she’s really latched onto, especially as she was 16 when the talks with McG really started and they filmed the pilot not even two months after she turned 17 (aka she's still aging herself up which is... interesting)

i'm reminded of peter gallagher on the podcast saying he was scared for mischa right from the beginning and how they all had a duty to protect her. and rachel saying mischa was "seasoned" because she'd been in movies and knew how to order a latte. and peter was like "she was still 16"

they keep referring to the hermosa party as manhattan beach (unless i’m the one messing up)

i forgot she mentioned josh’s name

“as with everything with like josh and them back then, it was like ‘maybe she should be drunker’” omg??

THE PAUSE BEFORE SAYING BENS NAME LMAO

oh she did notttt wanna complete that thought

“that whole exchange behind……… ben”

this reads so different now

i feel like rachel is so scared to talk in this ep

mischa with the tight lipped smile when rachel says it’s fun to see ben squirm on the ferris wheel

calling herself a baby/fetus in the ferris wheel scene... interesting

i cannot believe the gall of these women to make her watch this scene

the way mindy immediately says the bullshit patrick rush line of they had to cast people way older than her to make it believable on camera bc boys mature later? wtf. i bet she thought that was bullshit too

i love her so much for criticizing the 201 writing

the mount st mary’s thing... i wanna know what she means!!!

i can see mischa dissociating as melinda talks about the model home scene “there was so much that was real”

cannot believe mindy referenced this scene to her face

i’m so in shock how quickly mischa's tears came at the crash scene. quicker than rachel's

her not wanting to see him cry she’s so real

i think she hates seeing his face full stop

thank fucking god mindy tells her and the audience that the ratings went down bc she wasn’t there

i love that that’s on the record

that guy who called in about the 207 bagel scene should be our friend

i think mischa was getting overwhelmed by the time the final calls were coming in

i think a lot of memories good and bad were flooding in

[td-frog]

thoughts on dcas e7:

tom+jake+aiden

god this season is doing such a good job with jake. after last episode it'd make so much sense for him to just be jealous and upset, but instead he's genuinely trying to communicate. and literally saying "you always wanted me to do this, so i'm trying, please talk to me" is like. really good.

idk for sure but it does feel like tom's lying about the boyfriend. at the very least, not giving any more information (valid choice if it's true given they're on tv and that ruined his life in s1) makes it seem like he's lying, which sucks for jake because at this point he is doing everything right.

not really surprised that aiden's mad at jake about it given he and tom are friends and he and jake don't know each other, but it is a little disappointing given how clearly (to the audience) jake is Trying His Best

also i do kind of love that this very much could have been the end of it if it weren't for ellie intentionally fucking it up.

villains alliance

i fully forgot that alec didn't know about the letters. of course he didn't, he would absolutely have taken it seriously because he's the only person in the alliance trying to make it work. i do think it's funny that he and riya had a conversation about it without even checking if anyone was listening tho.

gabby finding out was inevitable, ever since the "ellie would've told me line" but i do feel bad for her. i'm worried this is going to backfire on tess tho, since she offered to talk to ellie first. their relationship is really sweet and it makes sense for the game to mess it up, but yeah :(

magenta team

prediction from last time: "if it's magenta team it's probably fiore, which makes me think it won't be magenta team." well i was half right!

i love fiore so much and i'm sad to see her go, but honestly i really really love what they're doing with jake here.

like the theme of his character is Trust Issues, and in s1 that was a lot more lashing out at people over tiny slights which was not the most likable trait. but now he's learned that that's not healthy and is trying to correct it, but the core issue is still there. the fear and worry at being hurt or abandoned hasn't gone away, he's just not externalizing it as much.

like i genuinely don't think ashley is wrong for hanging out with ally, not eliminating ally, not picking up on the severity of jake's anxieties, etc. in fact i think kicking ally out would've made it worse, bc what he needs more than immediate reassurance that he's her ultimate bestie is to build up resistance to the fear of abandonment- being able to experience the worry and have it turn out okay without needing ashley to do something dramatic will help demonstrate that it doesn't have to be as big of a deal as his relationship trauma is telling him.

but also i get it. and i'm not worried about ashley turning on him, but i do think he's not going to handle it well bc he needs to be liked so bad and is not having a good time.

other thoughts

yellow team took more of a backseat this episode (besides the villains alliance thing, but that was a bit more ellie focused), but yul continues to be the world's shittiest boyfriend. grett has grown so so much since s1 and it's gonna hurt so bad when this gets exposed i know it :(

#trevek confirmed ig, still kind of largely ignoring it for personal reasons.

predictions

cyan team should be high focus next episode, mainly bc of the villains thing. i think it's likely ellie will react badly to being confronted about it, and i can see it causing team tension esp with gabby. if they end up having elimination i don't really see ellie surviving at this point? mostly because tom and aiden are already biased against her and while i can see gabby sticking with her i don't think she could convince tess.

i don't think magenta will be up for elimination again, mainly because i think their current drama needs some time to marinate. ashley won't turn on jake unless he gives her a Really Good reason, and i don't see that happening in a single episode. and if they take ally out that kills the tension of jake not knowing how it'll go. so that (along with them having the smallest team) has me leaning against them.

if it's yellow, it's probably yul. riya and alec have not been subtle about their dislike, and there's no longer a non-villain option. i guess if grett hasn't figured out his act by then it could be a tie (in which case i think yulgrett would vote for riya, and yul would win the tiebreaker for narrative purposes (it not making sense for him to go home before being exposed to grett)), but it could go differently. i think it's more likely to be cyan tho.

i should note i have no idea when to expect the merge. it feels too soon right now though.

also! i don't really think tess is in danger (although as team mediator and the tiebreaker between gabellie and tomaiden, she is the obvious candidate for getting out via trickery), but i do think she might be out soon- mainly, i'm expecting ally to be the one from her trio that lasts the longest, and i'm really interested to see how she reacts to tess elimination vs hunter. i also think it'd be interesting if tess gets out before they get much of a chance to catch up, and how that would affect things. anyways not likely to be next episode but i can maybe see that coming up at some point.

also also! i will very much enjoy seeing alec's response to fiore's elimination :3c (not that there will be one, of course, because he does not care :3c)

[u3pxx]

yooo i didn’t know you were playing dgs2! how far are you and what do you think so far? :o

oh god, it's been such a long time! i was playing it with some of my friends long ago and i'm afraid we're stuck somewhere in the middle of the first case and we haven't been able to continue bc of our wildly different schedules 😔

i am enjoying the first case a LOT though, i love the immediate focus on susato (i love the ryutaro disguise I LOVE HER it's such a funny contrast to see someone like her who's usually calm and knowledgeable about the law as co-counsel be as much of a nervous wreck like ryuunoske was when she's the one leading lolll [ALSO HER SPRITES! her eyes darting everywhere is so charming and funny])

i think it's a clever way to ease us in a tutorial again without like having ryuunosuke or susato be like oh no! i have amnesia! and/or i forgot how the law works for no reason! she needs help because she's so NERVOUS her mind blanks and man, isn't that real pfttt

and i also really like who the victim was in this case (which did make me gasp out loud when i saw the opening cutscene bc i did not expect that frankly.) i feel like they're building up to a bigger reveal/story and i'm excited bc ohhh that person killed an important character in the first case and now that they're dead we're never gonna know their true motives... for now! (it's actually also been a while since i played the first game and i can't remember if there was any mention of the victim of 2-1's motive on that one ASKSKS)

I LOVE REI I LOVE HERRRR such a strong personality, best friend energy off the charts, unashamedly in love with her best friend what more could you ask for

ok the things i want to say are escaping me bc im pretty sleepy FDGHD but i just remembered when i finally got what the pun was in rei membami (it wasn't even in our own let's play i was watching an lp on youtube lol) i had to get up and leave bc fuck off localization team don't ever speak to me again /lh ASKSKDGHJD

dont know much about menimemo yet bc i think we stopped in his 2nd testimony maybe but also fuck off with his name pun DFGHJD

[valentijnsstuff]

I don't even post on tumblr that actively anymore, but I think it's good to keep up my week report, even if it's just for myself.

Monday some gay shit happens (see last week report)

Tuesday some more gay shit happens. I clean my house, see my dad and go to a queer meetup about polyamory. All the poly besties are there. I proceed to be a menace and annoy all of them for attention seperatly (they all think I am cute). During the actual talk group, I provide some queer youngsters with cuddles. I offer the person who is practically my neighbor and who keeps cuddling me really intimately a ride home and they invite me in for more cuddles. They cuddle me in ways that make even me flustered. I go home with increased feelings of falling for this person.

Wednesday morning I do nothing 👍 in the afternoon my volunteer comes over for the first time. He's a funny, but concerningly normie gay guy. I feel like I'm babysitting him more than he is me (Boooooo). Neighbor cutie text me if I can hang out again and I have to say no (sad). Thank god my homecare besties ask if I want to go for an impulsive evening walk on the beach, so I ditch volunteer. We walk untill we are super hungry and order roti rolls for dinner.

Thursday. I go to teach comic workshop at a highschool. Couldn't sleep out of nervousness bc its the first time in a year doing the one thing that traumatized me to begin with (teaching teenagers while visibly trans). All in all it actually goes pretty okay, one of my comic friends is there and good work is done. I make a bombass dinner and text neighbor cutie if they want some food and they actually say yes. We circle the subject of our flirts a couple of times, and tease eachother a whole lot in the process. Meaningful conversations about kink and friendships also happen. Eventually I have the gut to say that their teasing make me want to kiss them on the mouth, their reply is that I should ask for a kiss then (the teasing is neverending with this guy) We do end up kissing, its very sweet. I get a bit insecure and fidgety about asking too much, but they reassure me all is good.

Friday, day two of teaching workshops at the highschool. The older students have noticed me and are starting to make comments within earshot, which puts me on edge. Two seperate times I turn around and tell the guys (it's always dudes) that they should just say it to my face. Both times are met with them defensively reacting to my confrontation, but not owning up to their shit (maybe for the better). Teaching classes actually goes well, eventho I am tired as hell. The kids are behaved enough and make great work. I even get to talk to one class that I would prefer to be called 'mister' and the kids really try their bestest. I accidently skip therapy bc I am double booked with work and forgot to cancel the session (or just didn't want to idk). My hookup date for the evening cancels, but I'm not even mad. Probably for the better to have a night of nothing. Post funny pictures of myself in a maid dress on insta, all the homies go wild.

Wake up saturday morning with the idea I can take it easy. Eat breakfast, do make up, make a foxy little video of dancing to my favorite song. Oops now its actually already time to go. Bring lunch to my comic bestie, who has a booth at a small local furry con. I get to spend the day in my maid outfit and feel cute and help out my bestie (yay). I drink bubble tea with way too much sugar and feel really wired from all the sounds and sights. I run into my younger cousin who I dont speak to often (he is a gay furry lol). Also so many transmascs, its a good time. I text my poly bestie to see if she is into a spontaneous cuddle session, she declines politely. I go to a birthday party of friends I haven't seen in a long time. I proceed to bother everyone there for attention.

Sunday, I dont even feel that bad emotionally, but I had insomnia the night before, so my body refuses and I just spend the whole day in bed. I watch anime, cook way too much mapo tofu, but can't be arsed to do anything else.

Monday starts really slow, but I manage to 10 pushups (new record!). I go the the office to work, but my head is heavy and I cant focus at all. I want to blame the airflow in the building, but I'm also just running low on energy bc I didn't eat enough. End up calling some people to say hi and check in on instead. Do some shopping, do some tufting. My friend who I was supposed to hang with in the evening cancels. Go home and eat more mapo tofu. I make the mistake of opening Grindr and get chatted up by some supringly nice people. One them is a bottom who really wants me to top him (haha funny), and the other a clingy autistic transfemme who is lonely and just wants to hang out. I have an impromptu hangout session with her at 11 in the evening. We drink tea and watch dungeon Meshi. Feel very wired afterwards and dont fall asleep untill 4.

[cal-gabes]

RUNNING HERE BC I SAW A POST AND JUST. Y’ALL ARE BEINF SUBJECTED TO MY SOURCE MEMORIES AND IDGAF WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT. THESE ARE SILLY 2 ME!!! 😾 (using cat emojis is so fun)

POST UNDER THE CUT SO YOU DONT SUFFER

( Hi! I feel the need to say; I’m aware i’m not my source. I just heavily lean towards it due to the comfort it brings! secondly, if you think i’m weird just don’t interact and move on? you have to SEARCH to find my blog. I don’t tag anything relating 2 my source so it’s kinda ur own fault really. Thx! )

— Ukrainian + Polish!!!!! Born and raised in america BUT YEAH

— I genuinely love sharks and trains; I use to ramble about my favorite shark, the lemon shark, all the time and yes I was punched bc of it (he cared about me I promise/silly)

— Snake bites + center tongue piercing were my dream ngl. still is but you get my point

— I had 1 tattoo and it was a stick n poke I did while high… it was a smiley on my inner thigh

— There was not a day at the kriegman’s that I did not actively try to cuddle with mel. whoever started the allegations that me and her didn’t get along are wrong; i babied her just as much as andre tyvm.

— Low iron would’ve been the death of me if it weren’t for ZD tbh. I forgot my meds so damn often and no, reminders did NOT help.

— Let rachel and my sister do my makeup one time; got deemed “Princess Caralyne” and have not let go of that sense even if i’m FtM. Forever princess caralyne. idc man. 🫶

— I did steal shit from andre a lot tbh. mainly random trinkets I found in his room and he never noticed???? he might’ve but honestly he never got onto me about it so 💀

— Mindlessly pressing my tongue to my cheek. Got yelled at often bc I’d zone out looking at the dumbass while doing it. Yeah…

— OKAY ENOUGH RELATING 2 ANDRE. My favorite thing to eat was pizza even tho i despised and continue to despise cheese. idk it tastes funny 2 me.

— I was forced to play uno with my siblings so many times and lost too many times for my ego to be intact but it still is bc I beat them in everything else.

— Broke my leg once and had to use crutches and threatened to wack someone in the head with them when I’d get fed up…

— DPD, ASD and ADD haunted me like the plague and still do. I can’t escape my suffering man.

— Being deadass, I bit everything I could any chance i got.

OKAY SHIT ABOUT ANDRE NOW + my weird ass relationship w/ him… HI BABE WHEN U SEE THIS ENJOY MY WEIRD MEMORIES OF U REGARDING SOURCE :3

— He had a freckle on the back of his neck that looked like a heart and I 100% kissed it whenever I could. got hit each time and nearly broke my nose too many times… but worth it nonetheless!!!

— Not much of a hugger, but did hold my hand if he thought I needed some form of affection which was nice!

— No, he really did lose it every time I said lieutenant. not just bc he was mad prior. he hated it and I loved to piss him off w/ it.

— THAT MAN NEEDED GLASSES ISTG. HE COULDNT SEE FOR SHIT HALF THE TIME.

— He would stare at people with murderous intent the second they mention any accent from him and it was honestly terrifying???

— Frog blinks. he frog blinked without meaning to and it was adorable. called him froggy for a very long while.

— He bailed me. he bailed me out of jail 3 times and we aren’t getting into that.

— Proper communication? nahhh. avoiding you for weeks then showing back up as if he wasn’t gone at all? mm. that’s it, that hits the spot./silly

I will probably post more shit like this about other stuff too because just wehlehfkdhdkfb happy

[k0k1ch1111]

Plsss tell us about ur oc Hoshiko!

AGH!!! AAA!

Alr alr lemme copy the info I just edited into the previous post and then I can add extra !!!

This is a dice insert oc so main part IA about her and ouma ♡♡

Tgey met when they were both 8, hoshiko was making a mad dash away from her old orphanage and she jumped a wall and her dress got caught on a point part of the fence and when she ran she fell face first into his back and knocked him over onto the floor and almost got trampled by the other dice members She literally looks up from the ground and sees herself surrounded by a bunch of 7-12 year Olds in creepy clown masks and basically clutches her purse thinking she's gonna be robbed amd starts freaking the fuck out like "DONT TELL THEM I RAN AWAY PLEAXE DONT TAKE ME BACK I DONT WANNA GO!" ans starts spiraling into oblivion while ouma (8) is like stomping his feet throwing a hissy fit over her knocking her over and knocking his mask offMeanwhile some of the older (12 yr old) members are helping separate them hoshiko looks at him and is like oh my GOD he's so cool!?!??! (He isnt) she makes an attempt to ask who they are and gets a response of like "were a SECRET EVIL CRIME GROUP and were SUUUPER BAD so you CANT JOIN US 😡😡" and he makes them all run away, but forgets his silly little mask. Which she grabs and stashes in her bag, then runs after them Once she catches up she basically has been yelling after them for like 10 minutes so her voice is honestly kinda shot and she like whisper screams "you forgot ur scary mask thing!!!!" To which she gets a like begrudging "ugh... thanks :///" because In my opinion ouma is very picky when it comes to friends, it's either love or hate and she hasn't made it on the good list yet so all she was is a stranger who PUSHED HIM!! (Faceplanted)She she looks around at this group of people and suddenly tye urge to join them.hits her like a brick and she immediately asks if she can be their friend (which earns her a few smiles) and ouma kinda just... glares at her like :/// what do you add to the group ://///Little does anyone rlly know she's a very talented little pickpocket and she does a little rudimentary trick and steals something outta his pocket and that's her ticket in :>

Ok now onto more

Her first true friends in dice were 2 of the girls from the dice portrait in v3 (brown hair girl and blonde twintail girl. I named them Mika and Yui.)

She rlly wanted to get along with ouma but he made an effort t9 avoid her for a few days after she joined bc he was still annoyed that she made him trip and look stupid

He kinda started seeing her as a talented liar and a good person to be around when she started showing admiration for him

Like when she was designing her little uniform she decided to wear her scarf like he does because "it's suuuuper cool :]"

she proved herself to be a good thief and a pretty good liar so she ended up being the go to for schemes when her and ouma became friends

She has a very codependent personality so she puts like all her trust in him (mistake)

Other members warn her about it but she's already too deep in and starts mirroring his personality until it sets in and they're super similar to each other

Some silly little details I think about with her and ouma specifically

After they get close and hoshi becomes more of his like. Right hand man / second in command they end up talking a lot

Ik it's cliche as hell but they don't rlly lie that much to each other bc they can see through eachothwts bullshiy there's no point

As more group members join they try and split responsibility over like. Group chores.

They both have a commanding presence so whenever they like. Sneak into an abandoned apartment complex for shelter they kinda split responsibility with how to organize it

Theyre kinda sibling like but they aren't rlly related they just look similar

She has an insane amount of shit on him it's not even funny

Id love to write more silly hcs or stuff about her in her respective KG at a later point ♡♡

[kozykricket]

ANIMAL WELL THOUGHTS (+ bigmode dunkey publishing thoughts)

so, animal well came out, and... i remember hearing about it sometime around february or march, but i hadnt realized bigmode was publishing it lol i havent played it yet, but i definitely plan to heres what i know: its a very funky and mysterious game, surreal kinda vibes. if you liked rain world for being a metroidvania but then also deciding to do weird shit with its world and go founky, but you maybe wished it was more about weird funky stuff, then... maybe you'll be interested! ive heard from furyforged, a yter i watch, that through following its development it has given him noita vibes in terms of the mysteries afoot in the world, and how there were even ARGs for stuff like the release date... but its supposedly all meant to be reasonably solvable without the internet? its supposedly quite surreal, and ive heard nothing but "oh my god this is literally one of the best games ever" even from people who i... really thought wouldnt give a darn about a quirky indie game which helps with the segue into the bigmode in the room

so, i honestly forgot dunkey did that whole thing with starting a game publishing thing... and now everyones talking about "wow, the first game that he publishes comes out and its a 10/10 GOTY contender according to most outlets. after we all laughed at him for saying i will only publish good videogames" and i think that no matter how you spin it, that is definitely quite hilarious, and huge congrats to the devs of animal well for having such positive reception. but it got me thinking about ... well, a game being published by someone well known for their career before publishing. by an influencer, content creator, whatever you'd call dunkey, and... like yeah, i suppose the duty of a publisher IS to help spread the word of the game and do the marketing and stuff, so the devs themselves dont have to, but it must be kinda strange to have people not just talking about your game for its pure contents, but talking a lot about DUNKEY and like. HIS achievements. i guess i just... don't want that to overshadow the game itself? i mean, it probably wont since... yknow, people separate publishers and games pretty darn easily. its what publishers do: they give games attention. dunkey said what he wanted to do with bigmode was to like, invest in games that he BELIEVES in and that he thinks SHOULD get more attention instead of just being yet another indie swept under the rug... which is great, because theres too many good indie games that go underappreciated just bc they dont get enough good marketing. it just kinda feels sad being reminded of that though but like, i just hope it isnt confined to being "the dunkey owned publisher, no way funny haha man" out of... yknow. well. i dont want games published by bigmode to be overshadowed by him. ...probably a silly worry though. again people dont say stuff like "oh yeah i really love [game publisher] they did so great" they talk about the devs when it comes to the contents of the game. the reason people are talkin about dunkey is probably because this is the FIRST game for bigmode to publish, and ... that he proved himself right, at least so far i mainly just ... think its a bit of a unique experience, and it makes me simultaneously happy for animal well, and bummed out for other small indie games, knowing that ultimately there are games of this quality coming out and flying under peoples radar just bc they dont get the resources and marketing of a good publisher

edit: cleaned up post